[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21476]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 

Final Project Requirements and Review Criteria for Grants for 
Chiropractic Demonstration Projects for Fiscal Year 1994

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces 
the final project requirements and review criteria for fiscal year (FY) 
1994 grants for Chiropractic Demonstration Projects under the authority 
of section 782, title VII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended 
by the Health Professions Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. 
L. 102-408, dated October 13, 1992.

Purpose

    Section 782 of the Public Health Service Act authorizes the 
Secretary to carry out demonstration projects in which chiropractors 
and physicians collaborate to identify and provide effective treatment 
for spinal and lower-back conditions.
    A notice was published in the Federal Register at 59 FR 28872 on 
June 3, 1994 to announce the grant cycle and to propose project 
requirements and review criteria for this program. No comments were 
received within the 30 day comment period. Therefore, the project 
requirements and review criteria remain as proposed.

Final Project Requirements

    1. The project must address the identification and treatment of 
spinal and/or lower-back conditions.
    2. The project must represent collaborative efforts between schools 
of chiropractic and schools of allopathic or osteopathic medicine.
    3. Each project must include a strong research protocol which will 
result in a significant expansion of documented research in the area 
addressed and which is suitable for publication in refereed health 
professions journals, including research-oriented publications.
    4. The project must include an explicit strategy for case-finding 
and a strategy for making direct comparisons to other forms of 
treatment. The results must be generalizable to patients cared for in 
clinical practices addressing spinal and/or lower-back conditions.
    5. Whenever feasible, minorities and women should be included in 
study populations so that research findings can be of benefit to all 
persons at risk of the disease, disorder, or condition under study.

Final Review Criteria

    The review of applications will take into consideration the 
following criteria and the quality of the supporting documentation for:
    (1) The strength of the rationale for the project;
    (2) The quality and clarity of the objectives to be achieved in 
relation to the stated statutory purposes of the program and the 
potential of the project for meeting them;
    (3) The strength of the applicant's institutional background in 
chiropractic training and research;
    (4) The competency of all faculty, both chiropractic and allopathic 
or osteopathic medicine, to be involved in the project, including past 
experience in chiropractic and/or chiropractic research and allopathic 
or osteopathic research;
    (5) The proposed methodology to be used in carrying out the goals 
and objectives of the project, including those pertaining to research 
and its outcomes;
    (6) The appropriateness of timelines to be used in achieving the 
project's goals and objectives;
    (7) The strength of the proposed evaluation methodology to be used 
in evaluating the accomplishments of the project, including those 
pertinent to research;
    (8) The strength of the evidence of the applicant institution's 
commitment, including letters of support, to carrying out the project 
successfully and the institutional commitment of the allopathic or 
osteopathic school of medicine collaborating in the project;
    (9) The suitability and availability of all proposed facilities and 
resources to be used in carrying out the project;
    (10) The appropriateness of the proposed budget and fiscal plan for 
carrying out the project and the administrative and management 
capability of the applicant to implement the project in a cost-
effective manner; and
    (11) The documentation, terms, and specificity of a formal 
agreement with a school of allopathic or osteopathic medicine for its 
collaboration in carrying out the goals, objectives, and evaluation of 
the project.
    The peer review group which reviews applications for this program 
will include no fewer than two, and no more than three, chiropractors.

Additional Information

    If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact: 
Dr. Marcia Brand, Program Officer, Associated Health Professions 
Branch, Division of Associated, Dental and Public Health Professions, 
Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services 
Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 8C-02, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, Maryland 20857, Telephone : (301) 443-6763 FAX: (301) 443-
1164.
    This program, Chiropractic Demonstration Projects, is listed at 
93.212 in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. It is not subject 
to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs (as implemented through 45 CFR part 100). This program 
is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.

    Dated: August 25, 1994.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-21476 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P